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Troy Mercy on guitar and ‘Way Down South’ with Steve Cropper on guitar and Lee Oscar on
harp. Another instrumental with Matt on guitar opens CD 2 ‘Matt’s Shuffle’ again with Bruce
Bears on organ and Matt also plays on ‘Tired of Sleeping Alone’ alongside Ricky ‘King’ Russell.
Side 2 also features Muddy Waters-style blues with ‘Evil’ featuring Bob Margolin and Jerry
Portnoy and also ‘Let Me Hang Around’ with Joe Beard and Billy Boy Arnold. Elsewhere there’s
a great version of Don Nix’s ‘Same Old Blues’ with Tracy Nelson singing and also involved are
Ronnie Earl, Duke Robillard, Doyle Bramall II, Bill Kirchen, Tom Hambridge and a bewildering
legion of other players. This profusion of players leads to great variety but also give the albums
no overall identity and I do wonder if Matt Murphy has got slightly lost in the project.

Graham Harrison

Chris Daniels and The Kings with Freddi Gowdi—40 Blues
with Horns Volume II—Moon Voyage Records

The Colorado based band KINGS, who were formed in 1984,
celebrate 40 years of playing together this year (2024), with
the release of their 20th album entitled “40 – Blues With Horns
Volume II.”

They possess the exuberance of ‘The Tower of Power’ with
the grit of ‘Blood Sweat and Tears’ and smoothness of ‘The

Average White Band’.

Chris Daniels is on rhythm guitar and vocals while Freddi
Gowdy, takes lead vocals with Steve Ivey on drums, John
Thornburg; bass and vocals, Colin “Bones” Jones; lead guitar, Bob Rebholz; alto saxophone and
flute, Darryl “Doody” Abrahamson; trumpet and vocals, Darren Kramer; trombone. Guest artists;
Sam Bush; fiddle and mandolin, Sonny Landreth; slide guitar, Tom Kapek; B3 and keyboards,
Christian Teele; percussion, Steve Conn; accordion and B3 and Hazel Miller vocals.

The opener ‘Jump (When My Baby Says)’, is a splendid toe-tapping swinger, horns, percussion,
fiddle and guitars all sweetly mesh together. While, ‘I Like Funky Music’, has a wonderfully
infectious, head nodding, hip swinging urban groove. ‘Everybody’s A Millionaire’, possesses a
sunshine infused feel with horns sweetly flying high. Even at one’s lowest ebb ‘Need Some Good
Luck Bad’ lifts you up, with its positively, pulsating horns and grooving guitar work. ‘Dance,
Dance, Dance’, is a rather splendid floor-duster with its rocking guitar and funky, swinging horns.
A fierce, attacking ‘Congo Square’, delivers a sneaking, snaking accordion paired with a raw lithe
slide. The late night, Sunday morning laidback ‘Stealin’ Candy’, delivers wistful horns and
introduces a sweet acoustic guitar. ‘I Like Your Shoes’ is simply an enticing, funky rolling groove.
‘Under Pressure’ is a horn laden unsocial urban commentary. ‘When You’re Cool (The Sun Shines
All The Time)’ is a goodtime, strutting, horn swinging tale of Cool!

Recommended!

Brian Harman